Month: February 2016

Pub Life X Barrio Chino Pop Up at Deus Café verdict: 9.5/10

Beef Burger: 9.7/10

Chicken Burger: 9.4/10

Sides: 8.5/10

So why Pub Life X Barrio Chino?

She says: This was two of the greats comingtogether. Any burger fan knows both of these joints spit out some awesome snacks. It would be crazy to have missed it. In saying that – I think it closes in a couple of days so if you want to check it out, get a wriggle on!! The overall verdict should have lost a few points because it took so long for us to get our burgers (but the food was so good.. and we are suckers). We waited for what felt like a really long time and I had to be restrained from stealing food from other tables. By the time they arrived I was panic-hungry (thus the blur in some of the photos).

He says: Considering the parties involved this is a fairly redundant question.

What did you order?

The Cheese Burger with Bacon – $16

The Fried Chicken Burger – $14

Chicken Nuggets – $12

Dirty Fries – $7

Tell us about the Cheese Burger?

He says: Close to perfection. Everything I loved about Barrio Chino and Pub Life (and burgers in general) all rolled into one heavenly package. Between the patty, M’Clures pickles, American cheese, soft bun and to die for dirty sauce you have a burger you could pretty much start a religion for. Also massive props for the crunchy bacon add on. This is the swag shit right here.

She says: Firstly can I just point out again that we were RAVENOUS by the time our burgers came. That is why the first picture sucks so heavily. I am the photographer, please accept my apology. But this burger? Poetry! This was a smashing little burger. I second everything He says above. Just a dream burg.

So then, how did you find the Fried Chicken Burger?

He says: Like the cheese burger but replacing the world class patty with fried chicken that as good any I’ve come across. Crunchy on the outside whilst being perfectly moist and juicy on the inside. The green siracha mayo took on champ status as well.

She says:The fried chicken was perfect, the great bun and condiments held it together the chicken version and all balanced really well. This was another really special burger.

Now, what about the sides?

He says: The buttermilk fried chicken nuggets were a very generous serve but I preferred dunking them in the dirty sauce than the provided Gochujo hot sauce. The dirty fries were immense (all fries should be coated in dirty sauce and cheese sauce from here on in)

She says:The fried chicken sauce was straight out weird. Theory is that it might have been off – it was super sour, vinegary and not nice. Luckily the chicken itself was amazing – crunchy but still really luscious in the middle – and was fine by itself or as He mentions dunked in the dirty sauce. The fries were full on but they were super moreish and pretty great.

Paradise Road Diner verdict: 8/10

Beef Burger: 8.5/10

Chicken Burger: 7/10

Sides: 8/10

So why Paradise Road Diner?

She says: We had some friends in town and one of them was gagging to go to the junction to ‘see if anything had changed’. So we thought why not? In the east, eat a burg. That is our motto. (I used to live in North Bondi and there was a part of me that is cross that this place has popped up since I have left and the rest of me was interested to give it a go having heard many, many good things.)

He says: The photos of these guys on the interwebs always presented one handsome looking burger. There website states that they are going for Modern Americana food with a ‘South of the Dixie Line’ influence.

What did you order?

The Cheese Burger with Bacon – $16

The Southern Fried Chicken Burger – $15

Chilli Cheese Fries – $8

Mac & Cheese – $8

Coleslaw – $5

Tell us about the Cheese Burger?

He says: As suggested this was a beautiful looking burger that housed a patty, two types of cheese, iceberg lettuce, tomato, pickles, aioli and tomato relish. There wasn’t much to fault here but I could have done with the patty being a little rarer and with more salt.

She says: Overall this was a pretty solid burger. The good patty, lots of sauce and delicious bacon put this squarely in the ‘would eat again with pleasure’ box. I wasn’t crazy about the bun but I also think that I have had my heart stolen by the milk bun, and i can never come back from there.

So then, how did you find the Southern Fried Chicken Burger?

She says:Wow – what a strange burger. The salad bits were good and fresh, the avo was creamy (maybe a little over pureed for my specific tastes), and the fried chicken was doused in a very generous amount of Frank’s Hot Sauce. I really liked the flavours in isolation but the Frank’s on a burger really threw me. I couldn’t get past it and for me it wasn’t something I would eat again. I wished we had ordered one of the other burgs to try, there were so many I liked the look of.

He says: This wasn’t so much my thing. The chicken itself was well battered and juicy but although I’m a massive fan of Frank’s hot sauce on buffalo wings, I found here it gave too much of an overpowering vinegar hit to the entire burger. Again, as I’ve often stated, I feel avocado has absolutely no business being on a burger.

Now, what about the sides?

She says:This is controversial and makes me feel like a traitor to my fast food leanings but man, that coleslaw was the stand out highlight of the meal. It was crispy, fresh and perfectly balanced. The chopped cornichons were fantastic and cut through the oil of the mayonnaise based dressing. The chilli fries were addictive but not necessarily the best I have tried, heavy on the meat with an almost Bolognese taste (wait is that how it is supposed to be?), it was too much for me. The mac and cheese was a winner with great cheese and salt levels (which is rare) but so rich I felt like I needed to do a few laps up and down Curlewis Street (BONDI REFERENCE) to feel human again.

He says: Chilli Cheese fries are always one of those things I like in theory but am continually reassessing my thoughts for as I find the chilli in the most part heavy and overpowering. The ones here did little to change my mind although I’m more than happy to bear some of the blame there. The Mac & Cheese was as good as any I’ve had of late and the coleslaw (not something we’d usually order as a side) which had the genius addition of cornichons was almost my highlight of the meal.

A Note on Our Verdicts

We try and sample a beef burger, a non-beef burger and a side. We score each out of 10 and then give a final verdict. For our final verdict, we take into account where we think the restaurant should sit on our Leader Board, which is why sometimes the verdict isn't exactly the average of the three, scores.